2017, Vol. 53, San Juan, PR
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CARIBBEAN FOOD CROPS SOCIETY 53rd Fifty-three Annual Meeting 2017 San Juan, Puerto Rico Volume L III ii PROCEEDINGS OF THE 53rd ANNUAL MEETING rd Caribbean Food Crops Society 53 Annual Meeting July 16-22, 2017 Verdanza Hotel, Isla Verde, Puerto Rico Edited by Merari Feliciano Rivera, Norma Samuels, Rebecca Tirado, Mireille Arguelles, and Hector Tavárez Published by the Caribbean Food Crops Society iii ©Caribbean Food Crops Society ISSN 95-07-0410 Copies of this publication may be obtained from: CFCS Treasurer Agricultural Experiment Station Jardín Botánico Sur 1193 Calle Guayacán San Juan, Puerto Rico 00936-1118 Mention of company and trade names does not imply endorsement by the Caribbean Food Crops Society. The Caribbean Food Crops Society is not responsible for statements and opinions advanced in its meeting or printed in its proceedings; they represent the views of the individuals to whom they are credited and are not binding on the Society as a whole. iv Message from the CFCS President 2016-2017 Esbal Jiménez, Associate Dean and Deputy Director, Agricultural Experiment Station of the College of Agricultural Sciences, University of Puerto Rico – Mayagüez We are honored to host the 53rd annual meeting of the Caribbean Food Crops Society (CFCS), the premier agricultural research group in the region. This year we enthusiastically welcome the Florida Entomological Society (FES), the Caribbean Agricultural Extension Provider’s Network (CAEPNet) and the Caribbean Council for Higher Education in Agriculture (CACHE), who are meeting simultaneously. We are pleased to offer our members and guests more than 102 abstracts and 70 presentations from the scientists of our region. The theme for this year’s meeting is “The Role of the Caribbean as a Research Hub to Advance Global Agriculture and Food Security”. We chose this theme because we believe in the great potential that the Caribbean has for agricultural research. With climate change threatening food and water availability for humans and animals, now more than ever, it is important to do research in places like the Caribbean. We have the opportunity to do research all year round, with diverse climate conditions and high environmental temperatures. In addition, we share similar problems such as insufficient local food production, high dependence on imports to feed our people, and a limited economy, land and funding for research. Clearly we must unite efforts in agricultural research to develop knowledge and technology for our region, which, in turn will help the entire planet to meet the challenges of climate change. This event results from the collaboration of many people from the College of Agricultural Sciences of the UPRM, and the economic support of the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez, the Puerto Rico Department of Agriculture, and our sponsors: Agro Servicios, Goya de Puerto Rico, Panamerican Grain, Panamerican Fertilizer, Meet Puerto Rico, and Milk Industry of Puerto Rico. I applaud the scientists who voluntarily offered to present lectures, the scientists who submitted their research abstracts and the farmers and entrepreneurs participating in the farmers’ forum. Thank you for your help and sponsorship. This meeting is the result of a year and a half of hard work by many diligent men and women. I also applaud the efforts of the local committee in coordinating this event. My wish is that each member and guest enjoys this conference and their stay in Puerto Rico. And, please don’t forget to establish strong networks for future collaborations in agricultural research. v Message from the CFCS Chair and Chief Executive Officer Wilfredo Colón, Vice Chancellor, Ana G. Méndez University, San Juan, Puerto Rico Good morning ladies and gentlemen. As Chair and CEO of the Caribbean Food Crops Society, it is a great honor and privilege to be here today to officially inaugurate our 53rd Annual Meeting. First of all, I want to ask everyone to stand up so we can have a minute of silence to honor Mrs. Aurora Lugo De Menkini. Aurora De Menkini was born in Russia from where her family immigrated to the state of New York. She completed a BS with a major in Animal Science at Cornell University, where she met Dr. Miguel Lugo López. They married and established their residence in Puerto Rico. She was the first female agricultural extension agent with the Cooperative Extension Service (CES) of the UPR, Mayagüez Campus. As a member of the CFCS she held various positions, such as Treasurer, Secretary, and member of the Advisory Board. Her active participation in the CFCS spanned more than 40 years. Aurora was 98 years old when she passed away in July 2016. The Miguel and Aurora Lugo Caribbean Food Crops Society Student Scholars was named in their honor. Today we have the privilege of having Mr. Peter Lugo De Menkini with us. He will participate in the ceremony where we will honor this year’s Miguel and Aurora Lugo Caribbean Food Crops Society Student Scholars, Class of 2017. I want to recognize the members of the Local Organizing Committee who worked diligently and energetically to make this meeting possible. • Dr. Esbal Jiménez • Dr. Mireille Argüelles • Mrs. Fátima Ortiz • Mrs. Lynette Feliciano • Dr. Merari Feliciano • Dr. Angela Linares • Dr. Héctor Tavárez • Dr. José Pablo Morales Payán • Mrs. Madelyn Ríos • Mr. Pedro Vivoni • Dr. Alberto Beale • Mrs. Wanda I. Lugo In addition, I want to present and recognize the Members of the Board of the CFCS. • Vice Chair: Dr. Harry Ozier-La Fontaine, INRA, Guadeloupe • Secretary: Mr. Jean-Louis Diman, INRA, Guadeloupe • Treasurer: Dr. Alberto J. Beale, University of Puerto Rico • President CFCS 2016-17: Dr. Esbal Jiménez, University of Puerto Rico Our Regional Representatives from: vi • English Caribbean a. Prof. Kwame García, University of the Virgin Islands b. Mr. Barton Clarke, CARDI, Trinidad and Tobago c. Dr. Rohanie Maharaj, University of Trinidad and Tobago • Spanish Caribbean d. Mr. Pedro Pablo Peña, CEDAF, Dominican Republic e. Mr. Jerry Dupuy, Private Sector, Dominican Republic f. Dr. Wilfredo Colón, Puerto Rico • French Caribbean g. Dr. Isabelle Jean Baptiste, AMADEPA, Martinique h. Mr. Marceau Farant, INRA, Guadeloupe i. Dr. Harry Ozier-La Fontaine, INRA, Guadeloupe • Dutch region j. Dr. Lydia Ori, Anton de Kon University, Suriname President of our Advisory Committee: • Dr. Edward Evans, IFAS, University of Florida, USA Ladies and gentlemen by the power invested in me as the Chair of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of the Caribbean Food Crops Society I officially declare inaugurated our 53rd Annual Meeting. Please let’s give ourselves a round of applause to convene our most sincere appreciation for our honorable and generous dedication to ensure the success of this meeting and of our society. Now please bear with me for a few brief remarks. I want to welcome to the stage Mr. Peter Lugo De Menkini, son of Miguel and Aurora Lugo López. I also want to recognize Dr. Michelle Samuel-Foo who chairs the Miguel and Aurora Lugo CFCS Student Scholars Selection Committee. We want to recognize the Miguel and Aurora Lugo CFCS Student Scholars, Class of 2017, these are: 1. Oral O. Daley, from The University of The West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago. The title of his presentation is: CULTIVAR EFFECT ON BREADFRUIT (Artocarpus altilis) INSTRUMENTAL AND SENSORY COLOUR AND TEXTURE. 2. Annelisse Ramos, from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus. The title of her presentation is: EFECTO DE MEZCLAS DE CULTIVOS DE COBERTURA SOBRE PARÁMETROS DE CALIDAD DE SUELOS DE UN OXISOL. 3. Diana Álvarez Vargas, from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus. The title of her presentation is: PRODUCCIÓN DE SEMILLA E INFLUENCIA DE TEMPERATURA SOBRE EL VALOR NUTRICIONAL DE LA SEMILLA DE SOYA FORRAJERA [Glycine max (L.) MERR.] vii Let’s give them a round of applause to show our appreciation for being selected members of the Miguel and Aurora Lugo CFCS Student Scholars, Class of 2017. Prior and during your visit to Puerto Rico, the current economic situation is and will be on the forefront of the news. You will witness first hand a striking transformation. We have surpassed previous migration statistics of the 60’s, and in the past five years over 400,000 residents have moved to the continental United States. In my opinion this is an example of an episode of extreme shock. I want to quote Naomi Klein to try to make sense of what we are experiencing: “I have spent the last fifteen years immersed in research about societies undergoing extreme shocks—caused by economic meltdowns, natural disasters, terrorist attacks, and wars. And I have looked deeply into how societies change in these periods of tremendous stress. How these events change the collective sense of what is possible, for better but mostly for worse. As I discussed in my last book, The Shock Doctrine, over the past four decades corporate interests have systematically exploited these various forms of crisis to ram through policies that enrich a small elite—by lifting regulations, cutting social spending, and forcing large-scale privatizations of the public sphere. They have also been the excuse for extreme crackdowns on civil liberties and chilling human rights violations.” A review of our local press will provide you with abundant examples of the metrics that the author describes in her research. If this is the new reality that we are facing, what is our role to go beyond these challenges and covert these adverse situations to opportunities? There lies the importance of this year’s theme: “The Role of the Caribbean as a Research Hub to Advance Global Agriculture and Food Security”. This theme was crafted by a group of young scientist of the College of Agriculture of the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus.